A member of the Congolese national intelligence agency, Agence Nationale de Renseignements (ANR), has been put on trial to answer to charges of torture. The officer is said to have lashed civilian Ghislain Kibwe, 40 times on the buttocks.
It's alleged that Mr Kibwe had received a call to report to the office of the intelligence officer; upon his arrival he was accused of exchanging counterfeit American dollars to one of the informal trade dealer. He was then interogated for several hours before the act of violence was carried out on him, all this to make him confess to the accusation levelled against him.
The incident had angered local civil society, who accused the newly deployed intelligence officials in the region for instilling terror among the population, they have since called for the intelligence officer to be immidiately relieved from duty.
Speaking to the media, the head of ANR in the region, Serge Bwana Senga, condemned the incident and asked the court to impose the toughest penality. He further emphasised that he can never authorise such behavior under his watch.
In the last couple of months security in the Province of Tanganyika has been beefed up after the incursion of Zambian troops in the bordering villages.
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